Who are the best athletes in the world? (Issue #10 Poll)

[Anthony]

Who are the best athletes in the world? Discuss!

[Maki Riddington]

I'm gonna put my vote on the athlete that can display a blend of explosive power, anaerobic conditioning and has a good aerobic base.

MMA fighters, Martial artists and athletes such as football, hockey and rugby players.

[Manveet]

for some reason I cant vote on the poll, but if I could I'd place my vote for Olympic lifters.

[Built]

Yeah, I can't vote on it either. :(

[Anthony]

Hmm, Dan may have to setup permissions. I'll get him to look into this.

[Kayo]

Wrestlers and Boxers we gotta do alot of cardio conditioning, pain tolerance flexibility, strength, huuuuuge mental game plan and you need alot of technique to be good

[d'Anconia]

Yeah I'm going with fighters. If you know decent karate stuff, a little bit of boxing, and how to wrestle... you'll probably never have a problem defending yourself.

[SW]

Hardcore wrestlers. With their workouts every day like that and even worse than the military, some of them become fast as hell, strong and can endure some of the worst punishments.

[RussianRocket]

I"m gonnna have to say Gymnasts, it is the combination of all things that makes them the best overall athelete. Speed, power, endurance, contitionning, stamina etc.

[Daniel Clough]

poll fixed by the way, so get your vote in!

[Canadian Crippler]

I'm going with gymnasts. Very very strong and explosive. Obviously incredibly flexible. Great aerobic capacity. And what they do in their actual sport just amazed more than any others.

[Anthony]

I've been checking out crossfit's site lately and they have a list of ten items that define fitness. Gymnasts have all ten. Fighters have all ten. The difference is, a gymnast doesn't have someone trying to knock them out while executing their game plan. So I went with fighters. :D

[Canadian Crippler]

Bob Sapp, clearly a great athlete. :p

[SW]

Fighters. You have to be in great shape, strong and mentally iron to be great.

[rookiebldr]

I've been checking out crossfit's site lately and they have a list of ten items that define fitness. Gymnasts have all ten. Fighters have all ten. The difference is, a gymnast doesn't have someone trying to knock them out while executing their game plan. So I went with fighters. :D

Well there's a surprise. ;)

[Shankerr]

I know two guys that do pro MMA fights, as well as a guy thats an olympic decathelete. Its a tough call, but I'd have to say the decathelete (ie. endurance) is the better all around athlete. SO theres where my vote lies

[Anthony]

I know two guys that do pro MMA fights
Who and where?

****

The problem I have with crowning "endurance athletes" or "strength athletes" as the best, is that they are very specialized. An endurance athlete may have great stamina and endurance, but they lack strength, speed, and power. A strength athlete may be strong, but they lack endurance, stamina, flexibility, etc. They are great at what they do, but put them in unfamiliar environments and see how they perform. A top athlete will score well on all tests.

[OceanFit]

I voted for team athletes. Not that I think a 300 lb linemen would more rounded than an all around men’s gymnast. Its just that I think team sports are more competitive, in this country at least. I think guys like TO are on a different level athletically than anybody you see fighting on the UFC these days. (I think the UFC is using some lower level fighters ever since the show started. Simply because the high end pros wouldn’t want to go on that show and people want to see the guys they watched on the show. But thats a little off the topic)

If the vote had been what sport demands the most athletics qualities I would have to go with something like a decathlete.

Grappling and that kind of sport does require a lot of you and is very challenging. But I think it taxes a specific combination of the energy systems in the body and takes specific conditioning to get ready for. I mean BJJ was developed specifically with the un-athletic in mind. Being more reactive than proactive. Don’t get my wrong. I love MMA and BJJ. I am a blue belt, took second at GQ nationals in the mens advanced this summer. But I don’t think me and my training partners are the best around by any means.

Team sports also too specific. With most team sports you have one job you have to complete and you depend on your team to complete the rest. Meaning you don’t have to be well rounded. Team sports are awesome. I loved playing rugby and wish I had done more than just wrestling in HS, but I don’t think they have that special something.

I personally think gymnastics require mostly short busts, and doesn’t really get into endurance. Don’t get me wrong, gymnastics is another thing I wish I had gotten into more. Props to anybody who can do a muscle up. But still missing something.

Triathlons are the exact opposite of gymnastics. Meaning they don’t use a lot of power. Don’t get my wrong, these guys have some powerful lungs and I understand the kind of power it requires to go up a steep hill on a bike. But its just not the best combination.

A Decathlete has to be well rounded; running, jumping, throwing. Power, endurance, coordination. I bow down to these men and women. I can probably beat them up. But they are awesome

[Narse]

You know when I rushed to vote, all that came to my mind was the marathon runner, drained, nearly dehydrated and stretching to break the tape on that final mile but when I read the replies so far it made me think. Having fought competitively I have to give it to the boxers and martial artists because outside of conditioning you have adrenaline, butterflies and fear all wrapped up into one as things to overcome when it comes to crunch time. They are the only ones squaring off with an opponent on an individual basis, the rest are competing to beat either a time or they have somewhat of a support team to cover the slack.

[fat2fit]

I would have said F1 drivers, they are incredibly fit as they have to deal with those ridiculous G-forces from all directions for long races, not sure if they count as athletes tho?

[Fenrir]

Australian Rules players are the best athletes in the world!

[Spartan936]

A top athlete will score well on all tests.

I see where this is going. Anthony is obviously the best athlete :D


No, I'd go with the fighters too. For reasons already stated. I also respect the hell out of those guys.

[KingWilder]

gymnasts or fighters

[DGabe24]

Ok I have to add my 0.2 here, I truly believe that team sports will win, only because there are so many more of them. If you picked the top 5 out of all team sports you can be so selective with athletes you pick. As a result of this the selected athletes would most likely be able to do any sport with a sufficient amount of time. I.E. - Lebron James and Terrell Owens, how many people are 6'8'' 260lbs give or take and can dribble a basketball that well?

However, there training, focus, and dedication may not be on the levels of other athletes mainly the fighters / boxers. It's hard for me to see gymnists and runners as "superior athletes" due to the lack of physicalness (word) of their sport. Thats why I have so much respect for any fighters, because they have the nuts to go 1v1 with someone whos trying to kill them, or even in basketball, football, any of those you have to learn to adapt to your opponents style to be successful.

This may be totally off, and possibly even lack some sense, but it is basically my opinion on the subject so take it or leave it :)

[-TIM-]

If we're talking about athletes that are at the top of their game, then gymnasts get my vote. I think an olympic gymnast tops everybody else on that list.

[xMeat_Headx]

Rugby players... amazing combinations of fitness aspects and athleticism.

[soul71]

rowerrrrrrs

[WildCard]

I would go with the athletes that utilize the highest percent of their max heart rate for the longest period of time.

My vote goes to swimmers and cyclists (especially in a climb)

[WildCard]

rowerrrrrrs

those too. and speed skaters as well

[carvin77]

Gymnasts...

[EmericaBadBoy]

Triathlon runners by far!

[Mr. Kool]

I would have to go with Pro Wrestling.

[lilmase1153]

I picked team sports because of american and aussie rules football. But after thinking it over I would have to say Gymnasts, 99% of all Gymnasts are in world class condition. Fighters although for the most part are in great condition just dont compare as a whole..

You dont have to be in tip top shape if you have good skill in MMA and that can be shown by watching any of the pay per views, but with Gymnasts every fascet of their game has to be spot on and thats not just skill wise its Peak physical condition

[aarongaskill]

MMA FIghters!

[235orbust]

you have to look at it all on an individual basis. as a whole id say olympians, but specifically you cannot find guys more athletic then lebron james or Michael Vick yano

[robert_wilson]

I'm going to have to go with team sports athletes. The number of athletes competing in team sports is so much greater than in sports like gymnastics or mma that there just can't be a comparison. Since team sports draws from such a wider pool of athletes its natural that the top level of competitors are more athletic than in other sports.

That being said I have a lot of respect for martial artists. Two years ago I had a chance to spar against a man who represented Canada in the olympics for judo in the early '90s. (I only had about 1 week of 6 hour a day training at the time). To even things out I had about 5-6 inches in height and 40 pounds on him. Needless to say he completely embarassed me over and over again. What really suprised me was how tiring grappling on the ground was.

The aerobic fitness and lactic acid threshold of that guy was incredible.

[Bam]

Id have to go with Fighters.

1. Gotta be in the best of shape
2. Have to train hard to be a good fighter(ufc/boxing stuff)
3. Whose dumb enough to step in a cage with another fighter and have everything go you need some balls.
4. Must be quick and explosive
5. Very under paid for the things you do and the right blow could ruin your life

[Chronic]

I'm pretty sure if you guys saw someone run a 5 kilometer run in under 13:00 you would say endurance athletes. Fighting yourself is much harder than fighting another person

[Anthony]

I'm pretty sure if you guys saw someone run a 5 kilometer run in under 13:00 you would say endurance athletes. Fighting yourself is much harder than fighting another person

Endurance is one aspect of athleticism. What about strength, power, etc? Endurance athletes are, for the most part, at the bottom of the pile when it comes to strength. Think of it this way ... take the list of athletes above and have them compete in each others sports. Who comes out on top?

[xMeat_Headx]

Fighting yourself is much harder than fighting another person

No... just... no.

[CrazyK]

Just because a sport is hard doesn't make the competitors in that given sport the best athletes. I think Oly Lifters, basketball players and football players are the best athletes. They can step in to other sports and do quite well pretty quickly.

[Chronic]

Endurance is one aspect of athleticism. What about strength, power, etc? Endurance athletes are, for the most part, at the bottom of the pile when it comes to strength. Think of it this way ... take the list of athletes above and have them compete in each others sports. Who comes out on top?

I understand what you're saying here. A majority of the best distance runners in the world do lift weights. They are by no means very strong but they are stronger than most people, especially fore their weight.

And meathead, be honest with yourself

[CrazyK]

I understand what you're saying here. A majority of the best distance runners in the world do lift weights. They are by no means very strong but they are stronger than most people, especially fore their weight.

And meathead, be honest with yourselfIt is not uncommon to see long distance runners have 6 inch verticals. That is how unexplosive and uncooridinated they are. Good for you if you like to run a long ways, but you are not going to be a better athlete by doing so. It simply is not an athletic activity to jog a long ways.

[Chronic]

Would you consider running a mile or 800 meter run an endurance activity? I'm certain that they are. When someone runs an 800 in under 1:50 or a mile around 4:00 its takes just a "tiny" bit of explosive power.

[CrazyK]

Actually no it doesn't. In no part of that race are they running even at 80%... but does it even matter? Organizing yourself to jog/run is not very difficult, it's not that athletic.

[Chronic]

Actually no it doesn't. In no part of that race are they running even at 80%... but does it even matter? Organizing yourself to jog/run is not very difficult, it's not that athletic.


oh boy..... 1:50 800 meter run which is a great time, but not near olympic standards. lets break it down though.

55 second 400. 1st lap of an 800 is typically 4 seconds faster than the 2nd. that makes a 53 second 400. 53/4 is 13.25.... so take off 20% of that since you say they never run even at 80%. so take off 2.65 seconds.... (13.25-2.65)

Now tell me do you really think these 800 runners can run a 10.6 100 meter???? well, if they can then they must be pretty athletic. and if they can't then I just proved you wrong.

[CrazyK]

No you didn't "prove me wrong". Athleticism has nothing to do with what your talking about. It doesn't take much cooridination to run around a track, sorry to burst your bubble.

Maybe if you had half the training knowledge or experience I have, than I might take you seriously.

[Canadian Crippler]

Think of it this way ... take the list of athletes above and have them compete in each others sports. Who comes out on top?Hockey Players vs. Mixed Martial Artists......... that's an easy one. :p

[Chronic]

No you didn't "prove me wrong". Athleticism has nothing to do with what your talking about. It doesn't take much cooridination to run around a track, sorry to burst your bubble.

Maybe if you had half the training knowledge or experience I have, than I might take you seriously.

well, you probably do have a lot more training knowledge than me, but i would have a lot more respect for you if you could just admit you were wrong about your whole 80% thing. But i'm sure you dont care about that.

[Anthony]

I understand what you're saying here. A majority of the best distance runners in the world do lift weights. They are by no means very strong but they are stronger than most people, especially fore their weight.

Stronger than most people doesn't say much. ;)

The point is, running, whether a sprint or a marathon, is one small aspect of athleticism. If you take that elite runner and have him compete in every other event (hockey, football, olympic lifting, powerlifting, fighting, gymnastics, etc) ... how does he rank compared to the other athletes?

For example, take the best gymnast, the best triathlete, the best olympic lifter, the best fighter, and the best hockey player. Have these five guys compete in each other's sports and award points for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. Who finishes with the most points?

[Chronic]

Stronger than most people doesn't say much. ;)

The point is, running, whether a sprint or a marathon, is one small aspect of athleticism. If you take that elite runner and have him compete in every other event (hockey, football, olympic lifting, powerlifting, fighting, gymnastics, etc) ... how does he rank compared to the other athletes?

For example, take the best gymnast, the best triathlete, the best olympic lifter, the best fighter, and the best hockey player. Have these five guys compete in each other's sports and award points for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. Who finishes with the most points?

You make a good point Anthony. So I'll get rid of endurance activities and say olympic decathaletes are the best athletes in the world. They compete in the 100-meter, 400-meter, and 1,500-meter runs; the 110-meter high hurdles; the discus and javelin throws; the shot put; the pole vault; the high jump; and the long jump.

[Anthony]

That would be a pretty good choice!

[Kevin89]

Id say Gymnasts they have Speed, power, endurance, contitionning, stamina and can do some crazy stuff most people cant

[Crips up]

Fighters. Speed, power, endurance, conditioning, stamina and they can take a punch.

[DGabe24]

I think the team athletes are really superior. If you take alot of the players from the NBA they will be able to compete on a few other professional levels of sports. Lebron James could have become a professional football player, Tracy McGrady was just as good at basebal, Steve Nash was amazng at hockey / soccer. The only reason I am opposed to fighters / runners is because they are so specific to what they do, that they might not be as athletic as you perceive them to be. Granted there's always exceptions and those are the fighers that excel. But if you train to fight every day you can become a decent fighter, and if you run and run eventually you'll be good at running. But team sports is a God given talent, and can only be worked on so much. /rant off

[Brian O]

MMA fighters as they train harder than anyone else.

[DCF]

MMA, MA, Football Players and fighters are all rough and tough!

[CrazyK]

MMA fighters as they train harder than anyone else.God I swear people will never get this. Just because something is HARD doesn't make it ATHLETIC.

[Jinkies]

Sumo Wrestlers take the cake of this poll (literally) they force themselves to eat thousands of calories daily and have strict workouts that last the whole day. I think they do the best for how heavy they are weighing up to 600 pounds and being quick despite the heavy bodyfat, not saying they the best overall but i think they deserve some credit for their hardwork

[Gordo]

I think the team athletes are really superior. If you take alot of the players from the NBA they will be able to compete on a few other professional levels of sports. Lebron James could have become a professional football player, Tracy McGrady was just as good at basebal, Steve Nash was amazng at hockey / soccer. The only reason I am opposed to fighters / runners is because they are so specific to what they do, that they might not be as athletic as you perceive them to be. Granted there's always exceptions and those are the fighers that excel. But if you train to fight every day you can become a decent fighter, and if you run and run eventually you'll be good at running. But team sports is a God given talent, and can only be worked on so much. /rant off

I have never heard that James was a good football player, interesting. I think you make a valid point about several team athletes being able to compete in other team sports. I don't think they would fair as well if you put them into a different arena (gymnastics, fighting, ect...). I think when you look at team athletes as a whole, you will find a very small percentage that could compete on a high level in another team sport, let alone an individual one. I also believe with the way high school athletes are becoming focused on one sport earlier in their lives, you will see fewer and fewer athletes that excell in more than one sport.

Your theory that if you fight everyday or run everyday, you will eventually be good at that event could also be applied to team athletes. Most people will become decent at a sport if they work at it everyday. The exceptions apply to every sport and that is why there is such a gap between the great athletes and the average athlete.

I strongly disagree about team sports being god given and only being able to work on it so much. Every year there are team athletes with amazing god given talent that don't work hard enough and are out of the league. Do you think Michael Jordan (probably the best of all time) had more god given talent than everyone and that is why he was great? It was because of his tireless work ethic and will that he dominated. Shaq is the most dominant player in the league, but when he hasn't worked hard in the off season he hasn't been nearly as good. Look at just about any elite athlete and it is a combination of hard work and god given talent.

Since this is all speculation anyway as very few athletes compete at a high level in more than one sport, I will go with fighters. In order to be successful they need endurance, explosion, strength, great hand eye and foot eye coordination. They need to remain calm and focused. They don't get the rest time most other athletes get during their competitions. They need great reaction time. Of course, any athlete who competes at a professional level has amazing ability.

[Brian O]

Athletes are such because of the discipline not just talent. "a person who athlete is a person that is trained or skilled in exercizes, sports or games recquiring physical strength, agility or stamina. Therefor I still say MMA fighters.

[dblockspky]

yea lebron james was a pretty good football player also which logically makes sense when your athletic and 6'6 you can be pretty good at any sport you want.
the best athletes are football players hands down. no other competitor in any other sport has the same combination of talents or as many talents as a football player. the combination of strength, speed, agility, stamina, and don't forget you can't be stupid to play pro football is unmatched with any other sport. as said by others, take most pro football players especially the elite ones and they will be able to excell in another sport also.
not to mention these guys take an ass whooping every sunday, only to have to go work hard again throughout the week and do the same thing a week later.

[laxguy1028]

how are you supposded to judge athleticism? a series of athletic events? participating in a variety of sports? Comparing times in different running, biking, swimming, lifting, throwing, jumping events? It depends becasue the answer varies for each.

[bicepsforyou]

I would like to how long should I work out for in a day.

[droman]

its got to be team sport guys with there 40 times there vertical leaps and strength. so explosive.

[VikingWarlord]

I'm going to go with hockey players, so I chose team athletes.

[Decent]

boxers/MMA

[Roddy]

fluffers :evillaugh

[aming37]

The five pillars of athletics are:

1. Power (similar to strength but more important in sports)
2. Speed
3. Flexibility
4. Endurance
5. Balance

The best athletes excel in all of these categories. If I leave out one or more of the 5 pillars it means that they are average in it.

Weightlifters:
Strength- Power
Weakness- Endurance

Endurance Athletes:
Strength- Endurance (suprise!)
Weaknesses- Power, Balance

Some people might argue that endurance athletes are slow but I disagree and here's a reason why: In the 2004 Olympic 10k race, the winner (I can't remember his name) ran the last lap of the 400m track in 52 seconds, and that's after the first 24 laps. If you think that's slow feel free to go to the nearest track and try it.

Gymnasts:
Strengths- Flexibility, Power, Balance
Weakness-

Martial Artists:
Strengths- Power, Speed, Endurance, Flexibility, Balance
Weakness-

Team Sports:
Strengths- Power, Speed, Endurance, Flexibility, Balance
Weakness-

Here are my final rankings:
1. Team Sports
2. Martial Artists
3. Gymnasts
4. Endurance Athletes
5. Powerlifters

The reason I put team sports and martial artists ahead of gymnasts is because in team sports and martial arts, your body has to be able to perform ANY type of motion at any given time. In gymnastics, you already know exactly what motions you will perform in your floor routine or your beam routine before you actually do them. Your body isn't forced to react to anything unexpected.

Finally, the reason I gave team sports the edge was because they have to compete much more frequently than fighters do. Fighters get weeks of rest between fights while basketball players have to play 3-4 times a week. They have to be able to perform under all that stress for 4-5 months in a row.

[Keith]

The five pillars of athletics are:

1. Power (similar to strength but more important in sports)
2. Speed
3. Flexibility
4. Endurance
5. Balance

The best athletes excel in all of these categories. If I leave out one or more of the 5 pillars it means that they are average in it.

Weightlifters:
Strength- Power
Weakness- Endurance

Endurance Athletes:
Strength- Endurance (suprise!)
Weaknesses- Power, Balance

Some people might argue that endurance athletes are slow but I disagree and here's a reason why: In the 2004 Olympic 10k race, the winner (I can't remember his name) ran the last lap of the 400m track in 52 seconds, and that's after the first 24 laps. If you think that's slow feel free to go to the nearest track and try it.

Gymnasts:
Strengths- Flexibility, Power, Balance
Weakness-

Martial Artists:
Strengths- Power, Speed, Endurance, Flexibility, Balance
Weakness-

Team Sports:
Strengths- Power, Speed, Endurance, Flexibility, Balance
Weakness-

Here are my final rankings:
1. Team Sports
2. Martial Artists
3. Gymnasts
4. Endurance Athletes
5. Powerlifters

The reason I put team sports and martial artists ahead of gymnasts is because in team sports and martial arts, your body has to be able to perform ANY type of motion at any given time. In gymnastics, you already know exactly what motions you will perform in your floor routine or your beam routine before you actually do them. Your body isn't forced to react to anything unexpected.

Finally, the reason I gave team sports the edge was because they have to compete much more frequently than fighters do. Fighters get weeks of rest between fights while basketball players have to play 3-4 times a week. They have to be able to perform under all that stress for 4-5 months in a row.

Wow, quite the post for being the first one. But makes complete sense.

[Levantar]

The five pillars of athletics are:

1. Power (similar to strength but more important in sports)
2. Speed
3. Flexibility
4. Endurance
5. Balance

The best athletes excel in all of these categories. If I leave out one or more of the 5 pillars it means that they are average in it.

Weightlifters:
Strength- Power
Weakness- Endurance

Endurance Athletes:
Strength- Endurance (suprise!)
Weaknesses- Power, Balance

Some people might argue that endurance athletes are slow but I disagree and here's a reason why: In the 2004 Olympic 10k race, the winner (I can't remember his name) ran the last lap of the 400m track in 52 seconds, and that's after the first 24 laps. If you think that's slow feel free to go to the nearest track and try it.

Gymnasts:
Strengths- Flexibility, Power, Balance
Weakness-
Martial Artists:
Strengths- Power, Speed, Endurance, Flexibility, Balance
Weakness-

Team Sports:
Strengths- Power, Speed, Endurance, Flexibility, Balance
Weakness-

Here are my final rankings:
1. Team Sports
2. Martial Artists
3. Gymnasts
4. Endurance Athletes
5. Powerlifters

.

For Gymnast you left out speed and endurance. You can't tell me that the gymnast that competes in the vault competition or the floor exercises are slow. As for endurance....ever try gymnastics? I have'nt but when I see them run through a routine on the uneven bars or the rings the phrase "lack of endurance" does not run through my mind.

[Levantar]

boxers/MMA
Sweet avatar! Remember the song that was playing during that scene? hehehe:zipit:

[BaamIce]

Triathletes!

[aming37]

For Gymnast you left out speed and endurance. You can't tell me that the gymnast that competes in the vault competition or the floor exercises are slow. As for endurance....ever try gymnastics? I have'nt but when I see them run through a routine on the uneven bars or the rings the phrase "lack of endurance" does not run through my mind.

I agree that gymnists need to be fast, not as fast as football or basketball players, but they do need to have some speed. That's why I put them in average. And just as a side note, when I say average I mean average among professional athletes, not everybody.

However, I think you are confusing endurance with stamina. All professional athletes require huge amounts of stamina to be sucessful.

When I say endurance I mean VO2 Max and lactic threshold. Gymnasts do have lots of stamina, but endurance isn't necessary. Gymnasts' routines only last for a few minutes, while team sports games last much longer. A basketball game lasts 48 minutes. I soccer game lasts 90 minutes, with only one break. The world record for a marathon is just under 2 hours 5 minutes. Gymnasts don't have that kind of endurance.

[Levantar]

I agree that gymnists need to be fast, not as fast as football or basketball players, but they do need to have some speed. That's why I put them in average. And just as a side note, when I say average I mean average among professional athletes, not everybody.

However, I think you are confusing endurance with stamina. All professional athletes require huge amounts of stamina to be sucessful.

When I say endurance I mean VO2 Max and lactic threshold. Gymnasts do have lots of stamina, but endurance isn't necessary. Gymnasts' routines only last for a few minutes, while team sports games last much longer. A basketball game lasts 48 minutes. I soccer game lasts 90 minutes, with only one break. The world record for a marathon is just under 2 hours 5 minutes. Gymnasts don't have that kind of endurance.

Basketball players have time outs...substitutions and play stopage for free throws, out of bounds plays and fouls. Football players only go all out for a few quicks seconds and then get 35-plus second rests AND they only play one side of the ball. Hockey has line changes and Baseball is more skill and less athleticism. Soccer? One Break? hehehe ummm I played soccer in college for 2 years as a center midfielder. Soccer may have only 1 halftime break but there are numerous stops in play along the way for side outs, corner kicks, penelty shots, and card infracrions.

Now marathon running has no breaks. So if the ability to continually run at speed makes you the greatest athlete then I guess marathon runners have it hands down.

However, running great distances is not the sole defanition of athleticism.

[Westsidemonster]

I voted for powerlifters and MMA fighters...;)
That's me!...lol...;)

[Borris]

That would be enough to induce me to vote otherwise.

[SW]

Muay Thai kickboxers, especially the little bastards at about 112. I watched 2 of them go at it in Thailand last night for 5 intense 3 minute rounds, in which they roundhoused and punched each other about once per second, each. The asskickery that ensued was awesome. They were hardly breathing hard most of the match, and the last 4 rounds were very interesting to watch. So yeah, they get my vote.

[aming37]

Basketball players have time outs...substitutions and play stopage for free throws, out of bounds plays and fouls. Football players only go all out for a few quicks seconds and then get 35-plus second rests AND they only play one side of the ball. Hockey has line changes and Baseball is more skill and less athleticism. Soccer? One Break? hehehe ummm I played soccer in college for 2 years as a center midfielder. Soccer may have only 1 halftime break but there are numerous stops in play along the way for side outs, corner kicks, penelty shots, and card infracrions.

Now marathon running has no breaks. So if the ability to continually run at speed makes you the greatest athlete then I guess marathon runners have it hands down.

However, running great distances is not the sole defanition of athleticism.

I never said that "running great distances is the sole definition of athleticism", I said that endurance was one part of athleticism. The only reason that I'm talking about endurance so much is because you are criticizing me about it.

When I said that team sports athletes are the best athletes in the world, I wasn't saying that baseball players are the best athletes in the world or that soccer players are the best athletes in the world. Every different team sport requires different strengths. I'm saying that over all, team sports athletes are the best athletes.

I never said anything about football players having to play for long streches of time. Football is about short repeated bursts of high energy output, not longer bursts of lower energy output. If you played soccer in college than you should know that in a game, soccer players definately spend more time running around than they do just standing there. Even when there is a throw-in or a corner kick or a penalty kick the players move around to set up the play.

I'm not going to argue with you any more. I respect your opinion and all I have been doing is defending mine. If you have a problem with my opinion please keep it to yourself.

[sean140]

i am a wrestler so i pick wrestling.

[Sexybeast777]

Wow! Most people voted for MMA fighters!...I'm glad :strong:

[PGreezy]

I was watching this gymnastics thing on tv today(dont ask), and those people are crazy athletes. I saw them do things I didnt think were possible, so I think I have to change my vote to them.

[rottyguy]

Triathlete / Ironman.......They are by far the most complete athlete, mentally and physically. They have to adapt to the conditions on the day, sometime's being extreme heat and competing against strong wind. ............For example, The Hawaiin Ironman is a 2.4 mile run, 112 mile ride and a 26 mile run.

[stevec087]

I voted for fighers. I used to wrestle and nothing is tougher than fighting someone the same weight and strength as you for minutes on end.

I also vote for lacrosse but I'm biased though because I play the sport haha. Similar to fighting, lacrosse requires many different skills to excel at a high level. Such as strength, endurance, quickness, and most importantly, excellent eye-hand coordination. Lacrosse is also full contact, your constantly getting bashed on by bodies and metal sticks.

[fgabriel17]

I vote for endurance athletes...what they can get from their bodies is just amazing. :)

[RhodeHouse]

I've read most of these posts. Some of the arguments are awesome. JUST ADDING MY 2 CENTS!

Triathletes/marathon runners and the like - IMO, not very skilled athletes. It's running swimming and riding a bike. I did that as a 5 year old. What does impress me is the mental toughness it takes to out the body thru that.

MMA - they can get their asses beat and beat some ass. A combo of boxing and wrtestling and some other **** that I can't say or spell. But, it's not too tough to fight someone. Another thing we all did as kids. No disrespect, because I can't do it, but as the greatest athletes?

Whoever said football and basketball aren't that athletic because there are stoppages of play, have never played either. Sorry that your parents allowed you to play soccer.

IMAO - Tight Ends and Linebackers are the best athletes. Why, you may ask. Tight ends have to run block or pass block against Dlinemen , LB's or Safeties. They also have to run pass routes, catch the ball against LB's, DB's and sometimes against DE's. They also have to know the WHOLE offense. All the run assignments and calls, as well as all the pass routes or pass blocking assignments. Most TE's are about 6'2" - 6'6" and 230-250lbs. And some huge bastards are more like 280-290lbs, like the two I played with in college.
Linebackers have a similar fate in the football world. They have to take on run blocks from 300lb linemen, FB's, and TE's. They also have to cover RB's, TE's and sometimes WR's, if they are playing man defense. If not, they have to drop into zones and read and react to the QB and the players running the routes. On top of all the fancy stuff, they need to recognize formations and make the proper adjustments before the ball is snapped, recognize personel groups, and then, when the ball is snapped they have to carry out their jobs. These guys on average are about 6' - 6' 5" and weigh about 230-250lbs. Don't cry that they have stoppage of play. Only those weak-minded soccer players would say that playing football is easy becaiuse a play only lasts for about 5-7 seconds. Try it. You won't like it. Make sure mommy and daddy sign the waiver first.

It ain't that hard to run and fight for 3 minutes when you're 160lbs. 15 year old boys do this all the time. If you take all of the things a TE or a LB has to do and know, you've got every single indicator of athletic performance you can think of. And no, I wasn't a DE or TE.

If my opinions offended you, life is too short to spend your life bleeding rectally.

BTW, dolphins are just gay sharks - Jim Wendler

[RhodeHouse]

Just messing with everyone. I still think TE and LB are the best athletes I've ever seen. I do have a tremendous amount of respect for all of the athletes mentioned. A lot of that stuff, I certainly couldn't do. But, it's pretty cool to watch.

[COF]

Its a touch call

[schmitty199]

I have to go with football players. Lifters need strength, sprinters need speed, tirathlon runners need endurance, boxers need quickness and toughness, baseball players need hand eye coordination.

Football players need lots of all of this. Most of the time not to the extreme on any of these levels but they have to be elite is all of these catergories.

[schmitty199]

I've read most of these posts. Some of the arguments are awesome. JUST ADDING MY 2 CENTS!

Triathletes/marathon runners and the like - IMO, not very skilled athletes. It's running swimming and riding a bike. I did that as a 5 year old. What does impress me is the mental toughness it takes to out the body thru that.

MMA - they can get their asses beat and beat some ass. A combo of boxing and wrtestling and some other **** that I can't say or spell. But, it's not too tough to fight someone. Another thing we all did as kids. No disrespect, because I can't do it, but as the greatest athletes?

Whoever said football and basketball aren't that athletic because there are stoppages of play, have never played either. Sorry that your parents allowed you to play soccer.

IMAO - Tight Ends and Linebackers are the best athletes. Why, you may ask. Tight ends have to run block or pass block against Dlinemen , LB's or Safeties. They also have to run pass routes, catch the ball against LB's, DB's and sometimes against DE's. They also have to know the WHOLE offense. All the run assignments and calls, as well as all the pass routes or pass blocking assignments. Most TE's are about 6'2" - 6'6" and 230-250lbs. And some huge bastards are more like 280-290lbs, like the two I played with in college.
Linebackers have a similar fate in the football world. They have to take on run blocks from 300lb linemen, FB's, and TE's. They also have to cover RB's, TE's and sometimes WR's, if they are playing man defense. If not, they have to drop into zones and read and react to the QB and the players running the routes. On top of all the fancy stuff, they need to recognize formations and make the proper adjustments before the ball is snapped, recognize personel groups, and then, when the ball is snapped they have to carry out their jobs. These guys on average are about 6' - 6' 5" and weigh about 230-250lbs. Don't cry that they have stoppage of play. Only those weak-minded soccer players would say that playing football is easy becaiuse a play only lasts for about 5-7 seconds. Try it. You won't like it. Make sure mommy and daddy sign the waiver first.

It ain't that hard to run and fight for 3 minutes when you're 160lbs. 15 year old boys do this all the time. If you take all of the things a TE or a LB has to do and know, you've got every single indicator of athletic performance you can think of. And no, I wasn't a DE or TE.

If my opinions offended you, life is too short to spend your life bleeding rectally.

BTW, dolphins are just gay sharks - Jim Wendler

The best athlete of all time(just physically speaking) may just be Lawrence Taylor. The Size, Speed, power, and toughness of that man was incredible.
Taylor is was a linebacker for the giants in the late 80's early 90's.

[EDGEman]

i am going to go with Olympic lifters because in any other sport u can have sloppy technique and still win with Olympic lifting if u dont have perfect technique u wont make your weight

[vrizzle]

Oly lifters. Combination of EXPLOSIVE power, flexibility, speed, mental toughness, and some other stuff I can't think of right now. Shane Hamman, a super heavyweight lifter, has a 36" vertical, can do a back flip, can dunk a basketball, and has a sub 5 second 40. This is all on a 5'9", 350 lb frame. That's insane stuff.

One note, because a sport is more difficult to perform, it does not make its members better athletes.

One more thing, difficulty is subjective.

One more thing, my response is biased, I know, but its what I think.

[Hoaxy]

Fighters is my choice. Honestly if you've ever been in a boxing match you'll get winded. If you've ever heard of Pancreas, there matches can last more than an hour. You need some EXCELLENT cardio and endurance to last an hour in a fight. Even not so long matches like UFC/K1/Pride will still drain the hell out of you. You're getting punched, kicked, wrestled and you still have to keep going. Imagine getting punched in the face by a guy who is trained to hit hard for a good 10-20 minutes while you're retaliating back. Yea, it's a tough business, but that's just my opinion.

[SaVvY]

i feel strongman is the ultimate physical test of a man (or woman), you have to be strong, powerful, fast, and well conditioned + it tests the entire body - in no other sport will you find a man pulling a plane that weighs over 500 times what he does

[left hook]

As far as all around fitness and strength I go with boxing. Plus i'm a boxer so go figure.

[Mr. _____]

Organizing yourself to jog/run is not very difficult, it's not that athletic. A weightlifting routine, or taking jump shots for basketball, or staying on the putting green for hours for golf is no more difficult then setting up a running routine (not "jogging" as you put it). Coming from a track background, I can tell you that the top distance runners are putting in 2-3 hours a day, some running over 100 miles per week, in addition to flexibility exercises, form drills, and weightlifting. Middle distance runners have tremendous power in order to be able to run, say for an 1:50 800m runner, two 55's back to back. I'm pretty sure you couldn't run one 55 and they run it twice, back-to-back, and thats not even close to the elite runners who run low 1:40s. You say that endurance athletes have no power and can't jump high, but do power athletes have endurance? Can a professional weightlifter or a offensive lineman run a mile in under 5:00? Of course not. It's all relative. Every sport, at the top level, takes just as much dedication as the other.

[RhodeHouse]

Schmitty - I am familiar with Lawrence Taylor. The real LT (Lawrence Taylor - not Ladainian Tomlinson) was a freak. IMO, Bo Jackson was the greatest athlete I've ever seen. After him, Michael Jordan.

As far as my pick for greatest athlete of all time, I think Jim Thorpe holds that place. Pro Football, Olympic Decathlete (I think), Pro Baseball, and I know there's more. Google his name a look at what he did back in the 20's and 30's, I believe.

[RhodeHouse]

I was curious, so I looked him up. AMAZING!

Full Name: James Francis Thorpe
Nickname(s): Wa-tho-huck, Bright Path, Jim

Date of Birth: May 28, 1887
Place of Birth: Prague, Oklahoma
Date of Death: March 28, 1953
Place of Death: Lomita, California
Burial Location: Private mausoleum in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania

Height: 6'1"
Weight: 190 lbs.
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Brown

Occupation: Football Player, Track and Field Athlete, Baseball Player
School: Haskell Indian School (Lawrence, Kansas) Carlisle Indian School (Carlisle, Pennsylvania)
Athletic Position: Halfback
Athletic Teams/Organizations: Cleveland Indians, Oorang Indiana, Rock Island Independents, New York Giants, Canton Bulldogs and Chicago Cardinals

Parents: Hiram P. Thorpe and Mary James
Spouse(s): Iva Miller (1913), Freeda Kirkpatrick (1926) and Patricia Gladys Askew (1945A)
Children: Gale, Charlotte, Frances, James Francis Jr., Phillip, William, Richard and John


Did You Know?

• Thorpe’s family wanted to bury him in Oklahoma and build a memorial for him there. Unfortunately, state officials refused permission. Thorpe’s widow Patricia heard about a small town in Pennsylvania called Mauch Chunk that was seeking a different name to increase town tourism. She struck a deal with the town and brought Thorpe’s remains to the tactfully renamed Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania. There, a monument has been erected in his honor with the sentence, “Sir, you are the greatest athlete in the world,” etched in the stone.

• The town of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania holds an annual birthday celebration for Thorpe every May 21 and 22.

• Believe it or not, Thorpe once hit 3 home runs into 3 different states in the same game. During a semi-pro baseball game in a ballpark on the Texas-Oklahoma-Arkansas border, he hit his first homer over the leftfield wall with the ball landing in Oklahoma, his second homer over the rightfield wall into Arkansas and his third homer of the game was an inside-the-park home run in centerfield, which was in Texas!

• Thorpe is one of two men in history who played for the New York Giants in two different sports. In football, he was the New York Giants' running back and in baseball he was the New York Giants' outfielder.

• Thorpe played football professionally well past his prime, retiring in 1928 at age 41.

• Jim Thorpe played major and minor league baseball for 20 years, starting with the New York Giants in 1913 and later playing a number of other teams, including the Boston Braves and the Cincinnati Reds.

• Thorpe was the first president of what is now the National Football League.

• Thorpe was .252 in his six seasons (1913-15, 1917-19) as an outfielder with the Giants, Cincinnati Reds and Boston Braves.

• Thorpe's best baseball season was his last, when he batted .327 in 60 games for Boston.

• At and auction in October 2003, an early 1900s football jersey worn by Jim Thorpe fetched a winning bid of $210,000.

• Thorpe was a twin; his brother Charlie died at age nine.

• He won the gold medals in the decathlon and pentathlon during the 1912 Olympic Games.

[@lien@ted]

HOWEVER, if I had to choose three to go to battle with I'd choose a football player as the best of them are some of the most versatile and well-rounded athletes there are...I'd also choose a boxer as it requires exceptional mental and physical strength and endurance in order to box with excellence...Last, but not least I'd choose a runner as the best runners have the ability to haul a** whether it be 40 yards, 400 meters, or 10 kilometers.

:dj:

[joseph83746]

I will go with a decathelete that is a martial artists.

[Decker87]

It depends how you define an athelete. Most of us are american, and you see a lot more posts about football players and boxers. However, go to any south american country and they'd probably say that soccer players or Pele or Ronaldino are the best.

Personally, I'd have to say fighters...as in mixed martial arts. I tend to think of "athlete" something that is very competitive, and I would assume that fighting is the oldest 'sport' there is.

On that note, I don't consider endurance athletes to be on the same tier, because as humans our lives don't naturally involve long runs or much endurance work. Neither do we require huge muscles to lift things.

[BCorn]

i say fighters........boxers! the conditioning for boxers is crazy. and there endurance is above all......

[blackboard]

I believe there really is no right answer. It's all about the individual athlete.

[Kiwirower]

My first inclination is to say rowers.

But I think I'd have to hand it to ironmen competitors. Take NZ's Coast to Coast event: Top level competitors in one day cycle 140 kms (three stages of 55km, 15 km and 70 km), run 36 km (including a 33 km mountain stage that crosses a mountain range (the Southern Alps)) and kayak 67kms of the grade two river.

That's pretty extreme.

[sharkall2003]

I played varsity football, I used to cycle, I've played basketball, ran cross country, I've weightlifted (and still do) and I have done some martial arts. Here's my opinion:

Football: Physically and mentally demanding. Taking hit after hit, play after play for 60 minutes is no joke. You have to be fast, strong, agile, and a mild case of endurance (you get short breaks during plays)

Basketball: You should be fast, agile and you need endurance. Running end of court to end of court for minutes on end in nearly full sprint is no easy task.

Cross Country: Mental toughness and lots of endurance. I think the mental toughness needed when you can feel your legs shredding apart and your lungs caving in and still going is borderline psychotic. The amount of endurance needed alone is definitely athletic.

Weightlifting: You can develop many of the things I have listed except endurance. Mentally challenging when you're lifting hundreds of pounds or pushing hundreds of pounds and you can feel your hands tearing apart, you can feel the pressure on your body and you feel like you'll be crushed.

MMA: Hard as hell. Try moving and learning new things every single day and having to incorporate that into fighting your opponent. And then while your doing that you have to have stamina to not get you ass beat and fall down after a punch to the melon.

Having tried and done all of these, I would say that they're all difficult and they're all great athletes. One not better than another.

[BuckeyeROC]

"Best" is too broad a term for something like this. I grew up playing all kinds of sports; baseball, football, basketball, track, soccer, bowling, archery, etc.

However, I was always attracted to the different elements required to play football at a high level. The combination of size, strength, speed, agility, and a decent amount of endurance. Plus the physical toughness from the hits, etc. That's what attracted me to football, more specifically, linebacker.

I will add that the MMA fighters are amazing athletes and tough as nails, not to mention boxers and wrestlers, but football just had the right combo of attributes in my mind.

[heathj]

baseball first baseman.

[testadura]

rugby hands down. the endurance of soccer, the power of american football, the ball handeling skills of basketball, the tackling techniques of wrestling......hands down the most athledic sport.

[bulletpr00f]

professional soccer FTW
ball travels up and down, players chase the ball while running 45 minutes 15 min break then run another 45 minutes hoping its going to end but then the score is tied so they go into OT and run some more

[CrazyK]

A lot of you are missing the point of what it means to be athletic. How much conditioning it takes to compete at a high level of any given sport is pretty independent of athleticism. Anyone can get in shape.

I determine how athletic the players are in a given sport by their ability to transfer those skills to other sports. I'd have to give basketball players the win.

[McVein]

professional soccer FTW
ball travels up and down, players chase the ball while running 45 minutes 15 min break then run another 45 minutes hoping its going to end but then the score is tied so they go into OT and run some more

Not at all, I play "soccer" and hopefully I will play professionally someday, but we are not the best athletes ib the world, not by a longshot, MMA fighters, rock climbers, Long distance swimmers FTW.

[robinson cruso]

athletes and fighters as in my opinion they have to build up their conditioning much harder and also train hard to fight hard

[BigDan9000]

NFL cornerbacks without a doubt. fastest quickest and can jump through the roof...can't beat em

[Badcurl]

I believe there really is no right answer. It's all about the individual athlete.

Second that.

[Ramstein85]

Bob Sapp, clearly a great athlete. :p

ROFL poor guy, he got the worst cardio in mma, him and Kimo Leopoldo

[tomv]

Rugby Union!

[Barcelona]

Not at all, I play "soccer" and hopefully I will play professionally someday, but we are not the best athletes ib the world, not by a longshot, MMA fighters, rock climbers, Long distance swimmers FTW.

99% of soccer players are in absolute great shape and can run mile after mile
80% of these players have amazing power in their legs, like a freaking horse
60% or more are big, cut, fast, agile, and strong on top of the other two percentages that i mentioned

now im talking college level and up, and my percentages are not fact just my opinion but im pretty sure the numbers are close.

as far as mma fighters, i dont think they are in great shape but for the most part they are big, not toned
rock climbers>? i dont know
swimmers, well i know a couple of those myself actually and they are pretty fat. they have beat certain records at competitions and such but are not so sporty

[Kiwirower]

The question is perhaps an interesting one to provoke a discussion. There can however be no clear answer because the question is too open. There are unlimited variations in what is meant by the term "athlete". Is it:

strength
speed
power
physical endurance
mental endurance
agility
tactics
flexibility
balance
control


or a combination of all or certain of the above, or more?

Even if we were to settle a precise definition of what constitutes an athlete, I think the variation is far greater by athlete than by sport. An Olympic badminton player might be better on our definition of athleticism than a national level MMF exponent. Or are we only comparing top international level sportspeople? Or national level? Or club level? Or all participants?

There are many millions who play football (soccer to the Americans) and cricket globally, and that would probably drag down the average standard of athleticism when measured across all participants of such sports. On the other hand, that means that international level competitors in those sports are at a very elite level - maybe the top 0.01% of overall participants in the sport. Whereas for some other sport, say polo, it is played by so few that one only has to be in the top 5% to be at an international level.

Bottom line: Different sports require different types of athleticism. And every individual has different skills and qualities, maybe in line with their sport, and maybe beyond the specific requirements of their sport.

[KoolDrew]

Fighters gets my vote.

[1mmort4l]

as far as mma fighters, i dont think they are in great shape but for the most part they are big, not toned




Bwahahahahhahhahah!!! Agghh hahhahahahhahahhah!!!
Are you ****ing serious!?

Other than the obvious, are you saying that all MMA fighters are big and (lol>) "not toned"?

Ok, big? At 155?

http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:PSzyY1mdNzWi5M:http://www.mmapunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/sean-sherk.thumbnail.jpg

http://mmajunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/02/070227sherk.jpg

some more "not toned" (lol) MMA guys?

http://www.ugo.com/elitexc/images/fighters/frank_shamrock.jpg

http://mma.komikazee.com/images/uploads/phil_baroni_thumb.jpg

http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:kEAuznK7Yx2uOM:http://sports.bodogbeat.com/wp-content/uploads/GSP.jpg

http://www.mmapunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/sean-sherk-and-hermes-franca.jpg

Ok now?

[Keith]

as far as mma fighters, i dont think they are in great shape but for the most part they are big, not toned


Zuh?!

You obviously know nothing about their training and conditioning they must be in for their fights.

[MightyPitbull]

All athletes involved in combat sports get my vote. They should all be considered as one category in my opinion. Wrestling, MMA, Boxing... etc.

Since I'm a wrestler, I'd like to say wrestlers are the best athletes :p

[TUEFELHUNDEN]

Motocross racers. Try going 40min. +2 laps at Max BPM and see how you feel

Oh, and do it again 2 hours later.

I agree though that all of these types of sports are very difficult to compete in at the highest level. I just think they are too different to compare. As far as overall I would go with MMA guys though for physical strength and fitness.

[Brawl]

Motocross racers. Try going 40min. +2 laps at Max BPM and see how you feel

Oh, and do it again 2 hours later.

I agree though that all of these types of sports are very difficult to compete in at the highest level. I just think they are too different to compare. As far as overall I would go with MMA guys though for physical strength and fitness.

Tuef is right on ...I saw a show where they measured strength , cardio and some other factors and the Motocross riders won hands down . They have tons of cardio ( if you never rode , you wouldnt know) and they are strong as hell .

Second I would say MMA fighters because you use all your muscles and you best have cardio . You can be the biggest most skilled fighter in the world ... if you got no wind , you aint fightin .

[MrWebb78]

You don't have to be athletic to be a great fighter. So I hesitate to say all or even most MMA guys are great athletes.

I picked team sports.

[FREAKZILLA]

I would say Flloyd Mayweather is pretty athletic.

[majorBRAWNtres]

there is no way to fully say beacuase they are all different athletical standards. no one is better athlete.

[TUEFELHUNDEN]

I would say Flloyd Mayweather is pretty athletic.


The only athletic thing about him is his mouth. It is overworked and he would benefit greatly by reading this forum. AHHAHA

Sorry, I don't care for him. His trash talk is really bad. He needs a lesson or two from the Ali school of trash talking. Then maybe.

[hjhjh220]

i think Team Athletes is the best

[Im14SoWut]

I'm think team atheletes. If you play and have a week spot you have to do your job plus try to make up for the other person at the same time. I gotta say full contact, team athletes and fighters. Well I guess theres a lota contact there too. But I dunno...

[Time+Patience]

I think an athlete is more than someone that is in shape and can do a lot of running and cardio. I look at an athlete as someone that can be a multi sport athlete and be good at it, or look like they know what they are doing at the least.

Many NFL players can play basketball, and do in the off season, Bo Jackson played NFL and MLB at the highest level, Michael Jordan wasn't great at baseball but he was able to do it sufficiently and excel at basketball, and I'm sure he could be a track athlete as well as a football player.

I could see boxers and fighters not shoot a basketball worth a damn, and see them not being able to catch a fade route or a slant, or maybe strike out every time they are up to bat.

High school kids are athletes, you hear many having to choose between 2 or 3 sports for college cuz they excel at all of them.

[Fuzzy]

Athlete is someone who wants to imrpove their sport.

I your a 400 pound super in 5 plys trying to squat more, you are an athlete.

If you're a 95pound Marathone runner trying for abetter time, you're an athlete.

[8.8]

did any one mention people who compete in strong man competitions
definly need speed, power and endurance the tripple threat in my book

[wuffwuffwuffy]

....me

[steroido]

The best atheletes make the most money!!!1

[Keith]

The best atheletes make the most money!!!1

Baseball players?

[Barnabus]

Baseball players?

Do baseball players really make the most money in america??

[Barcelona]

actually david beckham is the highest payed athelete in the U.S. right?

oh and most soccer players run 6 miles during a game, probably more according to position

[Lakers24]

You don't have to be athletic to be a great fighter. So I hesitate to say all or even most MMA guys are great athletes.

I picked team sports.


MMA guys arent great athletes. They are just willing to train and fight for peanuts. No real athlete with a brain would use his talents for so little return on such a high risk.

[Jared Enderton]

I put the fighters. i think they get to more 'breaking points' than most of the others as far as conditioning and mental toughness. it's hard to debate though, they are all awesome!

[nazmi]

Who are the best athletes in the world? Discuss!

the boxer's

[PriestCometh]

I helped strength train a top mma fighter and he was unbelievably uncoordinated
and not as dedicated as you would think.

[weasel]

My vote would have to be on wrestlers....

[TheLion]

as far as athletes go? i'd have to say team sports players. meaning they are the best at athletics, and sports, at being athletic. to play professional sports you usually have to have a lot of coordination, strength and speed. not always true, but a lot of the times it is. give most marathon runners a basketball and they wont know what to do with it. same with mma fighters. they may be great at fighting and in amazing shape, but try to get them to do something athletic, like basketball since that seems to be my example, and they probably wont do that well

[MightyPitbull]

as far as athletes go? i'd have to say team sports players. meaning they are the best at athletics, and sports, at being athletic. to play professional sports you usually have to have a lot of coordination, strength and speed. not always true, but a lot of the times it is. give most marathon runners a basketball and they wont know what to do with it. same with mma fighters. they may be great at fighting and in amazing shape, but try to get them to do something athletic, like basketball since that seems to be my example, and they probably wont do that well
I don't think that's going to work.

Let 2 basketball players or any team sport players have a wrestling match and they are going to look like damn fools.

[MillerTime1485]

MMA, wrestling and boxing in my eyes.. they have strength, speed and explosive power the three most important things.

[Mad Max]

Olympic lifters and powerlifters whould each have their own category. Olympic standard olympic lifters are often supremely flexible. There's also much more coordination involved. The only thing Oly lifters lack is endurance.

Also how do we class endurance anyway? Endurance in grappling is different from running endurance. Endurance in boxing is different from endurance in gymnastics.

[teenathlete3030]

For overall body control and strength/size ratio...gymnasts and some fighters
For linear power and speed...track athletes, football players, bobsledders (heard some crazy stories about these guys)
For quickness, endurance, and toughness...fighters
Overall athleticism...Decathaletes (like bryan clay), complete gymnasts (don't know much but someone who's good at all events), complete fighters (masters at every discipline of fighting)
IMO

[KingJustin]

I think I'm late getting in on this one... I'm doing a full response!

First, you have to define "best athletes."

I would define this as ... sports competitors with a combination of the highest levels of general fitness and the highest levels of specific skills in their sport.
So, two people with equal levels of fitness may be on completely different levels as far as being athletes if one of them is highly proficient in the skills of their sport and the other has no skill.

I'll define fitness in 3 parts...
#1 - Ability to do any physical task
#2 - Development all three metabolic pathways (and thus helps you perform well in 5 second, 5 minutes, and 30 minute, etc. athletic feats)
#3 - Stamina, strength, flexibility, power, coordination, agility, balance, and accuracy

With that established... I think there's 2 main contributors to a sport having the best athletes...
First, the sport has to actually give big benefits to competitors with high levels of fitness and high levels of skills
Second, money/culture... The more people that aim to compete at a high level in a sport, the better the athletes.

So, with that said, I would say it comes down to...
Mixed Martial Artists
Gymnasts
Football players (Wide Receivers, tight ends, line backers, defensive ends)
Decathletes
and if we're talking just about overall fitness, I think Olympic Lifters in the ~200-240lb (or whatever kg) classes are right up there. They have to be really strong all over, have great dynamic strength and have great speed-strength, flexibility and to an extent, agility. AND, a lot of them have very good general conditioning. Even though they are only tested on their 1rm, they have to do lots of lifting in the 5-10 rep range. To do that with 300lbs on snatch is exhausting as hell. So, to make progress in that rep range, they really need to have great conditioning. And we all know they have great speed.

Anyway, for my pick, I'd say football players if we consider just the positions I listed.

I don't think the decathlon does a great job testing everything like it should. The heaviest external weight you move is 16 lbs--and all three throws test the same muscle groups (having strong pulling muscles is hardly beneficial). All of the conditioning and speed events involve just running, and never over 5 minutes. Everything is linear, as suggested above. Accuracy and coordination aren't really tested.

Fighters lose just because there's not enough demand for it YET. There's a lot of room for improvement in the sport, and I think the demand is getting higher and higher now.

It's hard to vote football players over gymnasts, but I think that football players have much higher absolute strength, power and conditioning. I don't think it's fair to give gymnasts tons of credit for body control (it helps a ton that they're small) and then just consider their strength & conditioning in relation to their size (also extremely beneficial to be small).

I think that the CrossFit tests are a lot more effective than the Decathlon tests in finding who has the highest level of fitness... but, there's people all aroun the world really trying to become decathletes, and not nearly as many CrossFitters... and they don't really get any fame unless they have another sport.

[KingJustin]

The Wall Street Journal discussed the specific individuals that make up the top 10 athletes in the world...

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB121392004594090355.html?mod=sports

I don't think their criteria was as good as mine. I think they made some errors, too. Even though Roman Sebrle is the best decathlete, there's probably 10 guys right on his ass in the Decathlon (I'm just assuming here). If we can say he's definitely #1, in all likelihood the top Decathletes should make up the top 10 list. It seems like they wanted to make fans of every sport happy, so they just added people from each sport.

[ArjunDhir]

Endurance athletes.

[KingJustin]

Endurance athletes.

This is definitely the worst response. I really don't know how anyone is voting this way.

[Cirino83]

^^ I agree. Being able to run long distances doesn't make you athletic in the least bit. Neither does lifting heavy things like powerlifters. So those two are the worst answers. Team athletes, clearly are the most athletic, otherwise not being a PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE.

[Brendonia12]

wrestlers. They have to be stronger/more agile/more co-ordinated than their opponent in every single match. They don't rely on skill as much as alot of other sports, (like basketball. A guy with a good jump shot who isn't as strong or fast might overcome a guy who is stronger and faster, but not as skilled). Same with baseball, hockey, even boxing.

In wrestling if you lack strength or agility, you are immediately overpowered or otherwise taken advantage of.

[TheSeeker]

The greatest athlete in the world is Vasily Alexeyev. He broke 80 world records in weight lifting....

Anyway, just because he's the greatest athlete doesn't mean he's my favorite! lol. Fedor Emelianenko is still undefeated in his Mixed Martial Arts career. George "Rush" St. Pierre on the other hand is arguable the most well rounded fighter in the UFC.

[gamodye]

i voted sports games, basically because i think that games like soccer and American football require either enormous strength, stamina, speed, power, agility, almost anything.

they also have to be fairly intelligent, they have to know the ins and outs of their team mates, and tactics in which to get to the other side of the field.

[WillNoble]

as far as all around athletes I would say Olympic Gymnasts, Sprinters and Pro MMA fighters are probably the top3

[CODmasterJYK]

Boo, there's no bboying (breaking) in this poll.

Btw, for anyone who doesn't know what that is, bboying (breaking) is the real term for breakdancing... breakdancing is a term created by the media.

It all comes down to opinion, but for me it'd have to be bboying. I thought I always trained hard in bboying, but when I went down to Korea and trained with the bboys there... ****.

Honestly, every bboy move takes a ridiculously long time to learn. Back when I wrestled and did Tae Kwon Do, I thought that learning wrestling takedowns and TKD kicks took a long ass time.

The moves in bboying, however, take ****ing forever. I remember it took me 6 months to get my first flare and 4 months to get my first windmill. My crew members tell me that their firs windmill took them a year and their first flare took them a year and a half.

Footwork and toprock on the other hand does not take nearly that much time, but making it match to the music (building musicality) takes ages.

The bboys down in korea (at least the ones I met) practice a minimum of 4 hours a day (everyday). Usually, they practice longer than that. That might still not seem like a lot to others, but they practice hella intense. And they pull off some really dangerous ****. Like impossible things. Like really painful things that would probably kill a normal person. Things that make you wonder, how the hell would you ever train for something like that.

Like how the hell do you train yourself to jump off a five feet post, do a frontflip, and instead of landing on your two feet, land straight onto your back on hard tiled floor? The school that I went to doesn't even practice these moves on mats.

A lot of people might think gymnastics is just like bboying, but I mean, I've done gymnastics before, but I don't remember gymnastics being so painful. They at least had mats to cushion any fall.

[CODmasterJYK]

And you gotta be hella intelligent. Like, since bboy battles are usually crews vs crews, you gotta be able to work the floor so that the other crew can't slip into your set; in bboying there's also uprocking, where you dance with an individual member of the other crew and try to diss each other, so you gotta learn how to skillfully diss as well as avoid the disses from the other crews; to become a professional, you have to at least come up with like 3 signature moves--and believe me, that takes a godly amount of time and intelligence; etc. etc.

[Vince123]

It's difficult, they are all different strengths and weaknesses.

[Mrpedigree]

Beuase i love boxing and boxed as a schoolboy i gotta say boxing:thumbup:

[SW]

MMA guys arent great athletes. They are just willing to train and fight for peanuts. No real athlete with a brain would use his talents for so little return on such a high risk.

Many MMA guys are GREAT athletes. I don't remember brains having anything to do with athletic ability. How many MMA fighters are smarter than you? Probably a LOT. Another thing, what does monetary return have to do with athletic ability? Nothing.
Are you downing them b/c you're scared to step into the cage? Because they do stuff you can never do, and are loved by millions? Some of these guys make huge bucks off of fights, look it up. Not as much as other sports, of course, but still enough to make much more than a decent living.
These guys have to train in ways that would make normal guys puke and crawl off of the mat, begging for it to end. Night and day. They eat like bodybuilders, most of the time. The ones who are great, anyway. They also have to get into a cage with another animal such as theirselves, and fight to exist. I'd say that's a real ****ing athlete.

[Eagleclaw026]

I think the best athlete's in the world are in Special Forces. Now since I'm american I'm leaning on SEAL's, Green Berets, etc. But I'm sure Aussie and British SAS, Spetsnaz, NOCs from Spain. Are all up there.

[alexmoerman86]

Many MMA guys are GREAT athletes. I don't remember brains having anything to do with athletic ability. How many MMA fighters are smarter than you? Probably a LOT. Another thing, what does monetary return have to do with athletic ability? Nothing.
Are you downing them b/c you're scared to step into the cage? Because they do stuff you can never do, and are loved by millions? Some of these guys make huge bucks off of fights, look it up. Not as much as other sports, of course, but still enough to make much more than a decent living.
These guys have to train in ways that would make normal guys puke and crawl off of the mat, begging for it to end. Night and day. They eat like bodybuilders, most of the time. The ones who are great, anyway. They also have to get into a cage with another animal such as theirselves, and fight to exist. I'd say that's a real ****ing athlete.


^^^
What he said. On a related note I was extremely underwhelmed by Kimbo Slice's latest attempt in the ring, very dissapointing.

[Vinnieg123]

Gymnasts or Football players

[Little Anthony]

olympic wrestlers and ufc fighters

[HongMan_Choi]

BOXERS! and other pro fighting as well. They need alot of endurance, speed, strength, power, and basically everything. You also need to be able to take punishment and be really tough. You have to be in top shape in every aspect to be a good fighter. I have played football, and boxing. And football is NOTHING compared to boxing. Way more intense training, and the actual sport is extremely tough, its probably more of a mental game than physical as well.

[Xand]

Gymnasts.

[RhodeHouse]

Tight Ends

[Fitmari]

Gymnasts get my vote for sure. I have been one! and know all the hard work all the hard work it takes to become a good gymnast. It is hard work and perfection. Over and over and over again. You can't have any fear, high threshold for pain, have to be focused and be patient.
But OMG how much fun it is. Up on til today I still do handstands everywhere!! Love it. The world looks better upside down.

http://www.powermari.com/hand4b.jpg

[joelhall]

physically id go for gymnasts, mentally id say endurance athletes. especially if they happen to be bootnecks ;)

[Necrid999]

Boxing, hands down....You go punch a punching bag for 2-3 mins and see how ******ed tired you get.

[HARDWOOD]

Hockey players! they skate, carry a big stick, and fight... but take the gloves off to do it!

[prettyboyfloyd]

Olympic Gymnasts.PERIOD

[NY Rob]

Is poker a sport? If not then i'll go with MMA

[ghurt38]

My vote goes to sprinters. They're not what I consider endurance athletes as described by this poll. You aren't pacing yourself in a sprint, you are using all your energy in your body for a burst of speed. It's why sprinters are cut and very muscular, they use up their fat storage for energy while building up their muscles. Having been a sprinter in high school I would say that the most grueling workouts I had were my track and field practices. Wrestling is tough and you have to use your strength for long periods of time, but there are points where you are able to get some rest. Sprinting for 200-400m, going down to 100m, and going back up to 200m with only about 1 minute between each sprint to rest will make anyone lose their lunch. One practice can have you doing anywhere between 10 to 15 of these sprints. I'd say a 400m hurdler is the best athlete out there. It's incredibly tough to sprint 400m, add hurdles to it and you've gotta have a ton of strength as well as endurance to get a decent time.

[ghurt38]

I forgot to add that 400m hurdlers or any type of hurdler has to have incredible coordination. In order to hurdle without losing time you cannot just jump over the hurdle, the idea is to stride over the hurdle while keeping your head level. Simply jumping over the hurdle will cost you a lot of time. If you've ever tried doing a hurdle, just doing a sequence of them is tough to do without crashing into one or stutter stepping. Hurdlers have to time when to stride over the hurdle so that they can keep a rhythm throughout the race and avoid stutter stepping. This takes a ton of coordination. Even 100m sprinters have to be very coordinated. They have to understand how to burst out of the blocks without widening their base and going side to side, when to begin striding out, and how to keep their form while running. They have to continue to analyze their form during a sprint because at the competitive level they will lose a race if they have sloppy form.

[F1Senna]

Really hard to say, I voted fighters though.

[BrockO'Bummer]

Galabin Boevski (olympic weightlifting)

Konstantin Konstantinovs (powerlifting)

Randy Barnes (shot put)

Anderson Silva (mixed martial arts)

Usain Bolt (100 meter sprint)




Did I miss anyone?

[BrockO'Bummer]

I'd put my money on olympic weightlifters. Did you know that Hossein Reza Zadeh and Leonid Taranenko as 800+ pound raw squats?... Not impressed?... What if I tell you they do it ATG and high bar?